Government of Mordusia
Unicameral | leader1_type = Holy Priest of Mordusia | leader1 = Calvin West | party1 = Isolationist Party (Mordusia) | election1 = | leader2_type = Archbishop | leader2 = Pius XXVII | party2 = Isolationist Party (Mordusia) | election2 = | members = 101 | meeting_place = Holy Congress, Rechtenburg | website = www.holycongress.gov.md | footnotes = }} The Government of Mordusia is the set of bodies that governs the nation of Mordusia. It is divided into the Imperial Throne, Viceroy-ship, Imperial Council, Imperial Diet, and the Imperial Courts. Imperial Throne See: Emperor of Mordusia The Emperor is the highest executive in Mordusia and is a hereditary position. The Emperor (or Empress) has complete executive authority over the other parts of the government, who serve at his pleasure. To be Emperor of Mordusia a candidate must be able to prove a legitimate descent from Emperor Mordus I and be the current Duke of Sayoon. The Imperial Throne itself is in the Mordusian Imperial Palace in Rechtenburg. The Emperor has the sole power to appoint his Imperial Council. In practice though, the Emperor usually takes a hands-off approach to governance allowing the elected Diet to act as the nation's functioning government. However, it should be noted that the Emperor is not required to have a hands-off approach and there are historical examples of Emperors fully exercising their executive authority. Viceroy-ship See: Viceroy of Mordusia The Viceroy is the elected head of state. He serves in the stead of the Emperor and can exercise the same executive authority as the Emperor. However, the Viceroy does not serve should the Emperor take up residence in Mordusia in which case the Viceroy-ship is desolved until it is necessary again. Also, the Viceroy must listen to the wishes of the Emperor should he not be in the nation. Imperial Council The Imperial Council is the executive body that advises the Emperor (or Viceroy) in all matters and is headed by the Chancellor. While serving on the Council, all members are granted the title of "Lord Minister" or "Lady Minister" for the length of their tenure (except the Chancellor who is referred to simply as "Lord"). The Council does not have the duty of making actual policy (that falls upon the Emperor or Viceroy) but instead they inform the Emperor of the most intelligent or right course of action in policy. The Imperial Council, though appointed by the Emperor must be approved by the Imperial Diet. Current Imperial Council *' Chancellor' - Lord Collin Clement *'Minister of Foreign Affairs' - Lord Minister Carl Naymen *'Minister of Internal Affairs' - Lord Minister Victor Henson *'Minister of Finance' - Lord Minister Benjamin von Gleichstein *'Minister of Defence' - Lord Minister Vincent Klegan *'Minister of Justice' - Lord Minister George Stefan *'Minister of Infrastructure and Transport' - Lady Minister Laura Burger *'Minister of Health and Social Services' - Lord Minister Mark Johnson *'Minister of Education and Culture' - Lady Minister Victoria Baker *'Minister of Science and Technology' - Lord Minister Justin Steinberg *'Minister of Food and Agriculture' - Lord Minster Luke Yelton *'Minister of Environment and Tourism' - Lord Minister Nathaniel Brendon *'Minister of Trade and Industry' - Lady Minister Stephanie Neben Imperial Diet The Imperial Diet is the popularly elected parliament of Mordusia. It is composed of 750 members and lead by the Speaker of the Imperial Diet. The Diet has the duty of making and passing national legislation. The Imperial Diet also approves the Imperial Council who are members of the Imperial Diet. The Diet cannot be overridden by the Emperor except in the case of a national emergency, in which case the Diet is dissolved until the crisis is resolved. Members of the Imperial Diet are always referred to with the title of "The Right Honorable _________" during their tenure and are collective called "Members of Parliament" or MP''s. The use of the title "Member of Parliament", while not technically correct, is used because of the simplicity compared to calling MPs "Members of the Imperial Diet." Officers At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the Imperial Diet elects one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the Diet may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. A Speaker-elect cannot take office until he or she has been approved by the Sovereign; the granting of the royal approbation, however, is a formality. The Speaker is assisted by three Deputy Speakers, the most senior of which holds the title of Chairman of Ways and Means. The two other Deputy Speakers are known as the First and Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. These titles derive from the Committee of Ways and Means, a body over which the Chairman once used to preside. The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers are always Members of the Imperial Diet. The Speaker or deputy presides from a chair at the front of the Diet. The Speaker is also chairman of the Imperial Diet Commission, which oversees the running of the Diet, and he or she controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any appeal. The Speaker may discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the Diet. Customarily, the Speaker and the deputies are non-partisan; they do not vote, or participate in the affairs of any political party. By convention, a Speaker seeking re-election to parliament is not opposed in his or her constituency by any of the major parties. The lack of partisanship continues even after the Speaker leaves the Imperial Diet. The Clerk of the Diet is both the Diet's chief adviser on matters of procedure and Chief Executive of the Imperial Diet. He or she is a permanent official, not a Member of the Diet itself. The Clerk advises the Speaker on the rules and procedure of the Diet, signs orders and official communications, and signs and endorses bills. He or she chairs the Board of Management, which consists of the heads of the six departments of the Diet. The Clerk's deputy is known as the Clerk Assistant. Another officer of the Diet is the Sergeant-at-Arms, whose duties include the maintenance of law, order, and security on the Diet's premises. The Sergeant-at-Arms carries the ceremonial Mace, a symbol of the authority of the Crown and of the Imperial Diet, into the Diet each day in front of the Speaker, and the Mace is laid upon the Table of the Diet during sittings. The Librarian is head of the Imperial Diet Library, the Diet's research and information arm. Diet Culture Introductions The Imperial Diet is highly influenced by tradition and protocol. Every day the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Imperial Diet calls to order the body and introduces, with full titulary, the Chancellor and Speaker of the Imperial Diet. Debating Debates are highly organized and regimented. Each MP addresses the Speaker directly ("Mr/Mrs. Speaker) in all debate never directly addressing any colleagues in any but the third person. Debates are not allowed to turn into personal attacks of any sort. Only one person is allowed to speak at any particular time and no one is allowed to shout or interrupt the current speaker. However, silent showings of support, like standing up during or after a comment or speech, are allowed as they are not disruptive to the debate. Dress All MPs wear dress gowns while in the Diet Chamber. Wigs are also common but have been disregarded by many. Anyone found to break the dress code is usually not allowed into the Diet Chamber but they will not be recognized by the Speaker in debate if they are allowed admittance into the Diet Chamber. Legislative Archive The Mordusian Legislative Archive is the collection of Acts passed by the Imperial Diet since it began keeping active records. This effort didn't begin in earnest until the early 3040s but the list dated back until the early 3000s. The Diet began keeping this record to allow everyone, both politicians and regular citizens, to be able to see the legislative accomplishment and records of the Imperial Diet. Imperial Courts The '''Imperial Courts' serve as Mordusia's judiciary. Its singular duty is to ensure that any and all crimes are prosecuted and criminals are brought to justice. The Imperial Court system uses a system of common law to reach its decisions with precedent having significant meaning in modern cases. There are three levels of the Judiciary. Cases or laws start at the first level and can be appealed by either party involved to the next level until reaching the third level. The first, or District, level is the lowest level where there are predetermined divisions that determine where a particular location a case will be heard. It handles any new cases and rules using a selected jury of average citizens of judiciary in which a group of 13 selected citizens will pass a verdict based on the evidence presented to them, and based on their interpretation of the law provided to them by the Court, will rule on a case. The second, or Appealate, Court level is second and has divisions like the District level but the areas are larger. It uses an executor style whereby a single judge will determine the ruling but no new evidence may be brought in, but lawyers on either side can argue again and attempt to get certain evidence used in the original hearing as ungrounded or unusable. The judge then rules on the case based on the valid evidence and their knowledge of the law. The Supreme Court is the third level and uses a council style with seven judges hearing the same case. There is only one Supreme Court and it is located in Rechtenburg. Again lawyers can re-argue the case and attempt to rule out more evidence if necessary. The seven judges then go behind closed doors and deliberate the case. After much conversation and thought about the case, the judges will vote on the case and their vote will determine the outcome. Rulings made at the Supreme Court level cannot be appealed and cases that reach this level can be used a legal precedence and will help in determining the nation's future cases. Category:Mordusia